LeSean ‘Shady’ McCoy on transforming Harrisburg real estate and earning his way into the Pro Football Hall of Fame

LeSean McCoy knows a thing or two about real estate, having moved from city to city during his NFL career.

The former Bishop McDevitt standout first flew off to Philadelphia for the Eagles, then shuffled off to Buffalo to be with the Bills. Now, the veteran running back has staked a claim in Kansas City, where the Chiefs are Super Bowl contenders. No wonder McCoy admits eyeing an elusive championship ring that he said would complete his credentials for the most coveted real estate of all – membership in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

But his Harrisburg roots run deep. That’s why, with the Chiefs on a bye, he was back in his favorite stomping grounds Thursday to look over a real estate project he hopes will renew a once-crowning jewel of the capital city.

Along with his brother, LeRon, and business partner, Ryan Sanders, McCoy and his company, Vice Capital, have plans to transform the legendary Jackson Hotel -- once the overnight address for a who’s who of African American luminaries -- into some of the most sought-after apartments in Harrisburg.

Visages of such stars as Louis Armstrong, Cab Calloway and Mahalia Jackson adorn the Jackson Hotel’s wall in a giant mural that’s prominently -- and proudly -- visible along the 1000 block of North Sixth Street.

Unfortunately, it is the only thing beautiful about this once-coveted address.

Since long-time owner and operator German Jackson died in Aug. 1993 at age 98, the Jackson Hotel descended into decades of disrepair, deterioration and dilapidation. So, too, has the Swallow Mansion, a few doors down, which saw its roof collapse.

Both are now part of the McCoys’ project to transform the block.

The McCoys’ company purchased the Swallow Mansion at 1000 N. Sixth St. in August and construction is well underway on five market-rate apartments there. Sanders said the company has since contracted to buy the Jackson Hotel, with construction on five more apartments slated to begin there soon.

All told, the McCoys have plans to develop the entire block, known as Jackson Square, with up to 70 apartments boasting a total of 50,000 square feet of living space, Sanders said.

“This is important because of German Jackson,” Sanders said during a tour of the site. “This is a very historical property.”

For the brothers McCoy, who both played in the NFL and are no strangers to putting their football money to work in a variety of business ventures, it marks their first major investment in Harrisburg. And it wouldn’t have been possible without an assist from the most unlikely of players: President Donald Trump.

Sanders said the ongoing work to rehabilitate the Swallow Mansion marks the first project in Harrisburg under the tax-advantaged Opportunity Zones established in some 8,700 neglected areas across the country as part of Trump’s 2017 federal tax overhaul.

The tax breaks, along with other assistance from Dauphin County, will allow the project to earn a return for their business, while finally returning these long-neglected Harrisburg fixtures to their former glory, Sanders said.

He declined to say how much the McCoys’ company was putting into the project. But LeSean chimed in, saying “It ain’t cheap.”

Thursday’s site tour was LeSean’s first look at the project since plunking down the money for the Swallow building at 1000 N. Sixth. While there are still holes in the second floor, glass-less windows and a missing roof over the third floor, the project is progressing toward a late winter/early spring completion date, Sanders said.

“It’s a lot better than it was,” said LeSean, as he stomped about the dusty floors in gleaming white designer athletic shoes. “It was pretty messed up.”

Still, Shady seemed to think the February 2020 finish date for the Swallow Mansion might be a bit aggressive, adding instead: “As long as it’s done right.”

McCoy said he’s determined to do the landlord thing right, too.

In this, he’s driven by boyhood memories of his grandmother and all her frustrations with a series of neglectful property owners, whom he said cared far more about the rent than the residents.

“We didn’t have a lot,” LeSean said. “I remember my grandma, when we were younger, and she would talk about the landlords. Some were slumlords. I never want to be like that. I want people to come home and feel comfortable. I never want to be where LeSean McCoy owns this building and it’s terrible. I never want to be that type of guy.”

LeRon McCoy said his younger brother’s seriousness about the project shows not only his maturity but his mindset. For perhaps the first time in a stellar career, LeSean’s post-NFL life is now close enough to touch.

“Every time you’re released or traded, you take a look at yourself -- or you should,” LeRon said, referring to his 31-year-old brother’s release by the Bills before the start of this season.

“I think it made him a little more understanding of the business and how he has to prepare himself for the unknown or the inevitable,” LeRon said. “The big difference between myself and LeSean, I told him, ‘you’ve never been a role player.’ It takes a little bit of getting used to. Superstars don’t worry about cut day. Whereas role players, it’s a date we dread. He has more of an awareness of life after football.”

Awareness? Perhaps.

Reality? Not just yet.

For the immediate future, LeSean will have to manage his investment and his properties from afar, with Sanders and his brother handling day-to-day affairs on-site. That’s because McCoy said he’s fully committed to playing football for up to three more seasons after this one.

“I’ll play about two or three more years,” he said. “Maybe two as a big-time role player. A guy who can really help the team out. And then my third year, a savvy veteran.”

McCoy will be a free agent following this season but said it’s way too early to speculate where he might land next.

For now, he’s supremely focused on the playoff push with the Chiefs, openly admitting the ring is the thing.

While McCoy can deftly dodge a tackle, he didn’t dodge the big question: Asked whether he obsesses about winning a Super Bowl, McCoy responded, “Yeah, I really do.”

In fact, he sees a championship ring as crucial in completing his resume for the Hall of Fame.

“I think just for my legacy, I think a Super Bowl would really help me out,” said McCoy, who just surpassed 11,000 rushing yards during his 11-year NFL run. “I want a Super Bowl, and I want the Hall of Fame. Those are things I want to accomplish. I think it goes hand-in-hand. I think if I get that championship, it would kind of put me in that bracket. Number wise, I’m right there. I’ve had a lot of touchdowns, a lot of yards, a lot of success -- pro bowls, all-pros. I think a Super Bowl is the last one I need.”

But as McCoy’s list of NFL cities grows, feeling at home is harder. LeSean said he found a second home as a rookie in Philly in 2009. He admits being shell-shocked when he was traded away to Buffalo in the 2015 offseason.

“When I went from Philadelphia to Buffalo, that transition was tough,” he said. “I needed more maintenance as far as the love, the family, the friends.”

Despite being cut by the Bills just before the season began, McCoy has nothing bad to say about the town or the team.

Perhaps that’s because the shifty running back landed on his feet with the Chiefs, who boast an MVP quarterback in Patrick Mahomes, a track star wide out in Tyreek Hill and a chess master offensive coach in Andy Reid, with whom McCoy kept in touch since their early days together in Philly.

It’s made this relocation far easier.

“Going back with Andy Reid, a guy who drafted me, our relationship has always been tight,” LeSean said. “I mean, we’ve always stayed in contact, which is rare in this business. So I didn’t mind it as much.”

And while McCoy admits he’s thinking Super Bowl, he knows the NFL is all about a team getting hot and healthy going into the playoffs. He sees the Chiefs doing just that after an up-and-down season.

“We’ve had so many injuries. Now we’re at the right time. We’re gelling,” he gushed. “Last game was the first game we had all our offensive lineman since week four. It’s important because of the time of the year. It’s playoffs. You have to tighten it down a little bit. You need a game you should lose; you need to win those types of games.”

Once a team punches its ticket for pro football’s postseason dance, all bets are off and anything is possible, McCoy added.

“Everybody talks about the Super Bowl. You’ve got to get to the playoffs first,” he said. “And then after that, anything can happen. The Giants and Eli taught you that.”

Make no mistake: McCoy remains football first.

But for the first time, he’s beginning to glimpse his life after the NFL, as well. It involves real estate, investing in the community, and plenty of family and friends.

And of course, it centers on his hometown of Harrisburg.

“I’ve always been big on Harrisburg,” McCoy said. “I’m at Harrisburg guy. Anytime I’m anywhere else, I’m proud to brag about where I’m from. If I could build the community and help it out any way possible, I’m all for that.”

While turning historic African-American landmarks into market-rate apartments for a rising tide of Harrisburg professionals marks the McCoys’ first major business venture in the city, they hinted it won’t be their last.

Future projects could target more affordable housing for lower-income segments in the city, just as LeSean’s charitable foundation assists those in need in multiple ways, they said.

“It’s making a living,” LeSean said of his newfound future in real estate. “But it’s also building up the community.”

While the ventures may not generate NFL money, one’s body feels a whole lot better in the morning. Just ask LeRon, who knocked around the NFL as a wide receiving role player with the likes of the Arizona Cardinals, San Francisco 49ers and Houston Texans from 2004-08.

“Real estate is a business where if you invest in the right things, you could make money while you’re sleeping, compared to making money while taking hits and putting your body through a pounding,” LeRon said.

Soon, you might even call these football brothers the “Real Estate McCoys.”

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